Chapter 1999: Seeing Wen Ting Under the Sword Washing Pool, Sniffing the Sword to Seek the Address and Journey Through the Starry Sky

The Sword Burial Mound.

Continuous mountain ranges encircle this mysterious place, which has been passed down since ancient times. Perpetual mists add to its forbidden aura.

Everyone knows that in the Eastern Domain, there is a renowned forbidden mountain called East Mountain. In terms of age, even Mount Guizhe might not be as ancient. At the summit of East Mountain grows the ancestral tree, Sword Agave, also known as East Mountain Sword Agave. Though its fame is widespread, few have ever seen its true form. The Sword Burial Mound lies nestled within the heart of East Mountain.

East Mountain is one of the Seven Absolute Forbidden Lands, commanding the sharpness of the 'sword,' and should be widely renowned across the five domains. However, like the Sword Burial Mound, this mountain deeply understands the art of 'concealment.' It remains hidden and unassuming.

Near the Sword Burial Mound, pilgrims arrive in an unending stream throughout the year. Yet, they can only journey to the outer reaches of the East Mountain range, exhausting their efforts beneath the mist before returning empty-handed. Apart from those who successfully gain entry to the Sword Burial Mound's gate, outsiders cannot glimpse what the true interior of the mountain looks like. But how many people does the Sword Burial Mound accept each generation? Only a handful!

Despite its lack of widespread fame, this does not mean that the fortune of East Mountain and the Sword Burial Mound wanes day by day. All great rivers flowing eastward converge here. In fact, throughout the entire Eastern Domain of the Sword God Heaven, with the exception of Moonfall Immortal City, which has surged in the past few decades and aggressively seized some sword-path fortune, the sword-path fortune from all other regions and lineages, no matter how vigorously it developed, ultimately converges at East Mountain, the easternmost point, and within the Sword Burial Mound.

What is the purpose of fortune? Fortune has no specific or fixed purpose. If one were to explain it, it manifests as follows: the guardian of the Sword Burial Mound, two generations ago, was named You Tu! The current guardian is Wen Ting!

A streak of red light soared over the bustling market at the foot of the mountain, past the sweating climbers, and proudly plunged into the mist.“Look, who’s that? She seems to be wearing a skirt! Let me peek, let me peek…”“Trespassing into the forbidden Sword Burial Mound? Is she trying to die faster?”“Pilgrims must ascend on foot; this is an unwritten rule of the Sword Burial Mound. Only those who meet the standards of courage, perseverance, and wisdom might be favored by Sword Immortal Wen… Oh, except for Gu Qing IV.”“Flying like that, she’ll only trigger the restrictions! Who can withstand the vengeful attacks of the Sword Burial Mound’s hundred thousand famous swords?”“The Eighth Sword Immortal.”“Nonsense! Pfft, pfft, pfft, don’t look at me like that, everyone. What I mean is, only the Eighth Sword Immortal can do it. Anyone else, unless they’re named Wen or Gu, would definitely be shattered to pieces!”“She’s not one of the four Gu siblings. She’s clearly a Spirit Refiner; she doesn't even possess innate sword intent.”“Then she’s doomed!”“Insolent wretch, showing no respect, she deserves to die!”“Uh, insolent wench!”

The narrator, whose spiritual sense had picked up all the climbers’ jealousy and curses, smiled faintly, pulled out a token from their chest, and proceeded unimpeded. Seriously, with their status, why would they climb on foot? You can climb all you want, but the one you ultimately come to pay respects to is my brother! And my brother, even at a very young age, had already taken an oath of brotherhood with him. If you really count, the three Gu brothers… oh, now four siblings, all have to call him 'Martial Uncle'!

“Even though he doesn't know ancient sword arts…” The narrator, with a delicate gesture of a raised pinky finger, lightly held the Sword Burial Token, smoothly navigating through the outer mountain mist, bypassing the inner mountain’s winding paths, and familiar with various restrictions and sword gleams, soon emerged from the sword formation unscathed.

The scenery before them changed. Surrounded by mountains on all sides, the central area had a depression, facing east with north and south flanks, looking towards the distant East Sea, like a colossal tomb on earth. It was a real tomb. Yet, what was buried within were not people, but countless spirit swords and famous swords from across the ages. Above the tomb, lingering year-round, were residual grievances and a yearning for new life. This was the tangible, visible will of swords, utterly contradictory.

The narrator dared not look too long. Gazing at it too much might ruin one's eyes. However, ancient sword cultivators could observe it to refine their will. It was here that Baxun An's sword will reached its peak.

Looking up… The mountain was so tall its peak was out of sight! If one stood far out in the East Sea and gazed, with vision capable of piercing the mist, they would see East Mountain, unseen by the world, like a colossal sword attempting to pierce the heavens. This sword-like East Mountain had its hilt buried deep in the earth, its guard supporting the Sword Burial Mound, and its steep blade piercing through the nine heavens, a truly magnificent sight.

“Above the tip of East Mountain is the Sword Agave…”“Speaking of which, my elder brother and second brother can both go up there. I’ve lived half a lifetime, and still want to climb up to see the Sword Agave, but it’s harder than ascending to heaven. What a pity for my connections…” The narrator shook their head with a slight sigh, no longer lamenting, and lifting their skirt, rushed into the great tomb.

“Brother, brother!”“Brother, brother!”Like a chicken's crow, calling from south to north, west to east, the narrator finally heard the modulated singing of a play by the Cleansing Sword Pool. He was singing 'A Niu Embroidering Flowers,' an ancient love story between A Niu and the Embroiderer's Daughter, with a winding plot and a tragic end. The narrator couldn't help but stop, listened for a few lost moments, then snapped awake as if from a dream. They used the token to open the stone door and stood sulkily by the entrance:“Are you deaf? Didn't you hear me calling you?”“My love, my love, where are youuuu?”“Hey!”“Maiden, maiden, I am there! By the river's shore!”The narrator kicked with their toe. A pebble flew precisely, *smack*, hitting Wen Ting's backside, and a splash of blood appeared.“What are you doing?!” Wen Ting pulled back their watery sleeves, clutching their blood-stained bottom, and turned to glare angrily. Their face was fully made up, half masculine, half feminine, playing both roles simultaneously, clearly in high spirits. After turning back, their brows furrowed, and a murderous aura emanated, their resentment almost matching that of the famous swords tormented daily in the Cleansing Sword Pool.“I have something for you.”

The narrator, without a care, kicked off their high heels and, barefoot, stepped onto the bluestone path beside the Cleansing Sword Pool, where the water barely covered their feet. Amidst the crisp splashing sounds, they approached the seat, quickly curled up as if they were home, and even unceremoniously rested their wet feet on the armrest. After wiping twice, they crossed their legs, casually reached for a book on the nearby stone cabinet, and, tilting their head back, flipped through the pages while saying: “Little An'an is looking for you.”—'The Sword Scripture, Volume One'!“He has something to ‘ask’ me for, but he can’t come himself? Does this person have any manners?” Wen Ting’s unfriendly gaze fixed on the narrator’s wet feet.“No manners! And he really can’t come! He can’t even fly anymore. If you made him climb the mountain now, you’d have to go out and collect his corpse tomorrow.” The narrator rolled over, lying more comfortably with their rear end sticking up. “Oh, and you’d have to arrange a funeral too.”Wen Ting’s face lit up with pleasure, the fierce glare gone. “Haha, collecting corpses is good, I love collecting corpses. A funeral is good, it must be a grand burial… Don’t interrupt, put your feet down!”

If the three Gu brothers were to come here and witness their master’s current words and actions, they would probably be utterly shocked. Because in the minds of the three young ones, their master was a solemn person, perpetually stern-faced, rarely smiling, let alone laughing heartily. Moreover, the Cleansing Sword Pool was a sacred place in the Sword Burial Mound. Three days before entering that stone gate, they had to burn incense, bathe, change clothes, and meditate. After completing a series of procedures, they still had to seek their master’s permission before entering the Cleansing Sword Pool. Finally, 'The Sword Scripture' was a secret of the Sword Burial Mound, not to be passed down. Apart from initial discipleship, one could only gain the privilege of copying 'The Sword Scripture' as punishment for wrongdoing. Normally, Gu Qing II and III, despite their mischief, rarely managed to gain the privilege of copying 'The Sword Scripture' as punishment.

“A divine book! Truly a divine book!” The narrator flipped through a few pages of 'The Sword Scripture,' feeling drowsy, and knew they would never comprehend innate sword intent in their lifetime. They put the ancient book back on the stone cabinet, stood up, and said earnestly: “Kui Leihan has found him!”Wen Ting raised an eyebrow, pressing a forefinger to their rouge-painted red lips, and said sarcastically, “Do the matters of their Ten Revered Seats need to bother a small fry like me?”“They need to invite you.”“Invite?”“Yes! They specifically requested you, the renowned guardian of the mound!”“Who requested me by name?”“Who else but Little An'an?”

The narrator smiled, got off the seat, came to the Cleansing Sword Pool, and crouched down to look at the center of the pool. Amongst a mass of rusty broken weapons and remnants, there was a broken sword, yet it appeared brand new, without rust or moss, and vibrated intensely with a vibrant blue hue, its sword intent flourishing. The narrator couldn't help but praise, “It has to be Qingju; after so long, it still has vitality.”“That’s not vitality,” Wen Ting pointed out. “It’s a little crybaby. It’s been crying for thirty years, without stopping.” The broken sword Qingju vibrated intensely, as if protesting, but its 'woo-woo' hum became even more piercing.“When I saw it last, it wasn’t like this.” The narrator squinted, vaguely recalling that Qingju’s rust and moss should have grown faster and more extensively than on other swords.“It always has the misconception that it's about to re-emerge, so it undergoes another bath and change of clothes.”“Again?”“Yes! Many ‘agains’!” Wen Ting chuckled mockingly. “Washed so many times, yet no one comes to favor it. Oh dear, my little crybaby, how pathetic!”Wooo-wooo— Qingju vibrated even more violently.“Just wait and see. In less than half a month, its rust and moss will grow even faster than before, and it will age more quickly.”“Always being sad, the heart will die.” Wen Ting had long lost the inclination to offer advice, and now showed no fear of disheartening the broken sword Qingju. After saying this, they directly ignored the sword, turned to glance at the narrator, their expression darkening slightly: “What is it specifically?”

The narrator stopped beating around the bush and directly said, “He wants you to find the God-Slayer Official’s relic.”“Can’t he just summon it and enter?”“He can’t get in anymore.”“If he can’t enter by summoning, can’t he go through the Four Symbols Secret Realm?”“He really can’t! That passage is also sealed. It’s essentially the same.”“Then how do I find it?” Wen Ting was speechless, spreading their hands. “First, I don’t leave the Sword Burial Mound. Second, I’m isolated from the world. Third, you haven't even given me a general location for the God-Slayer Official's relic's spatial coordinates. Am I supposed to risk my life to find it for you?”“No need to risk your life,” the narrator shook a slender, jade-like finger. “You can use your 'dog…' er, I mean, you can smell the scent of the Rage Immortal Buddha Sword, or the sword will from the 'Sword Observation Canon'. Four swords would also work. Just a general direction will do.”Wen Ting was about to curse, but hearing this, their expression hardened. “That troublesome thing has already entered?” After the disappearance of the Grievance Buddha, the Rage Immortal Buddha Sword was no longer in the Western Domain's Buddhist Sect. Wen Ting had searched for it several times, and eventually the scent led to the Abbot of Mount Guizhe's Daoist Temple. So they stopped searching. The narrator nodded without speaking.Wen Ting pondered for a moment, their eyes turning dangerous, and said cautiously, “And after I find it? What does he want to do? What can he do? Or is he going to keep inviting me—I’m not going!” They preemptively cut off their escape route. Wen Ting had no interest whatsoever in the Ranyao Relic or anything like it, and was too lazy to get involved in the bigger picture.“You don’t need to get involved. Just find it, and he’ll handle the rest himself.”“Isn’t he half-dead?” Wen Ting didn’t say it aloud, but thought anxiously, “What can a good-for-nothing who would die climbing a mountain possibly do?”“Don’t you dare… call him good-for-nothing!” The narrator glared fiercely at them, then said, “Anyway, I don’t know either, but if he says so, he must have a way.”“He has no damn way…” Wen Ting muttered, pacing back and forth beside the Cleansing Sword Pool, finally asking, “Is there a general direction?”“None.”“So you want me to search within the spatial fragments? That’s like looking for a needle in a haystack!”“No! You need to exit the spatial fragments and search in the starry sky! The God-Slayer Official’s relic exists in a way similar to a Void Island.”“What?!” Wen Ting’s face changed dramatically, turning as black as coal, yet they surprisingly didn’t refute, merely muttering unintelligibly, cursing profusely.Can he really do it? The narrator was inwardly horrified. Anyway, when their brother first proposed this outrageous idea, they hadn’t thought it possible. But now it seems…“Have you broken through to Sword Saint?”“No!”“What about a breakthrough in another sense?”“Not telling you! You’re a big mouth, can’t keep any secrets!”So he really did break through… The narrator, instead, felt relieved. With both brothers being so powerful, excellent, they could slack off again.

“How long will it take?”“I don’t know!” Wen Ting impatiently flicked their sleeve, turned, and left. “Wait here, I need to consult the Sword Agave, otherwise, I might not come back alive.”The Sword Agave… The narrator’s heart stirred. “Can I come along?”“You can, if you think you’re capable, follow me.”“But you should take me! Protect me, and let Lord Sword Agave bestow a sword seed upon me too, then I can cultivate the sword art!”“I can’t take you, nor can it bestow one. If you want to go, climb the mountain yourself. It’s not that I forbid it—if you can climb.”“You devil!” The narrator stomped their foot, watching Wen Ting’s solemn departing figure vanish. He went to climb the mountain. The path up East Mountain could not be ascended even once in decades. This journey was likely extremely perilous.“That’s right, after all, he’s going to search for someone in the starry sky…” The narrator got a headache just thinking about it. Without a specific aim, it was even harder than finding a needle in a haystack. Could his 'dog nose' truly sniff out the scent of the Rage Immortal Buddha Sword and others from the starry sky?

Baxun An is my brother. Wen Ting is also my brother. The narrator didn’t want to come here for a visit, only to end up arranging a cenotaph for their second brother in this very tomb… Waiting felt like years.

After an agonizing year had passed, a resonant sword cry echoed from beyond the heavens. All pilgrims outside East Mountain looked up. They saw a streak of sword light returning from the sky, receding into the Sword Burial Mound, and vanishing without a trace.“Sword Immortal Wen!”“My heavens! I really saw Sword Immortal Wen’s immortal trace! My three years of pilgrimage here were not in vain!”“Has he become a Sword Saint? This aura…”“I wonder which unlucky child received Heaven’s favor again, to be guided by Sword Immortal Wen… Ah! I desperately want to be guided! I’m so eager, I can’t stand it, make way! I want to contort! I want to crawl!”

The Cleansing Sword Pool. The narrator stared blankly at the disheveled Sword Immortal before them. This fellow had only been out for a day, yet looked as if they had returned from an ancient battlefield, covered in bloodstains, their clothes tattered, and carrying a leg wearing 'hairy pants' in their hand. One of their legs was broken!“Are you alright?” the narrator rushed forward to help them.“Are *you* alright?!” Wen Ting rolled their eyes, harshly tapping the narrator’s head with their broken leg. “My leg is broken, and you ask if I’m alright?”“As long as you’re not dead, as long as you’re not dead…” The narrator patted their chest in relief, then asked with a hint of expectation, “So?”Wen Ting tossed over a jade slip, then self-absorbedly swallowed a pill while trying to reattach their leg: “Just captured it. The newly appeared spatial coordinates of the Four Swords and the aura of the Desireless Reckless Sword. Tell him to track these two.”“The relic’s spatial coordinates are still moving, very fast! I’ve asked the Sword Agave to track it. If there’s no reaction from that side soon, it won’t be lost.”“If he goes, tell him to be careful. That place… is not right.”The narrator’s expression changed. “How is it not right?” Wen Ting glanced at them, knowing that this 'little Taixu' was unaware of the truth about the Ranyao Relic. Naturally, they wouldn't mention the evil god’s power they had just witnessed, to avoid unnecessarily worrying Ning Honghong.“Hurry back. If you’re late, the coordinates will be lost, and I won’t make a second trip.”“Oh, alright.” The narrator knew how difficult things were beneath Wen Ting’s casual demeanor and dared not waste more words, nodding to leave.“Wait!” As they reached the stone door, Wen Ting suddenly spoke.“What is it?”“Tell him to just ram it with the Void Island. Doesn’t he have the protection of the Heavenly Ancestor’s spirit? At worst, it’ll save his worthless life.”Need to use the Heavenly Ancestor’s spirit? The narrator’s heart stopped. Their throat felt parched. “He doesn’t have spiritual essence… oh, no, spiritual power right now. He can’t activate the Sub-Dimensional Gate, let alone open the Void Island…”“Good-for-nothing!”“Tsk.” The narrator pouted.“Alright, alright, not good-for-nothing, go!” Wen Ting waved their leg irritably.The narrator didn't reply, didn't even say goodbye, and with a worried expression, walked out of the stone door, about to close it.“Hold on!”“What now?”“Tell him… if he can’t win, tell him to come in person… yes, a jade slip message would also work… Anyway, if he asks me personally, I might… you know, when one is in a good mood, they occasionally do things outside their plans…” The corner of the narrator’s lips curled up.“But it’s not guaranteed!” Wen Ting stood on one leg by the Cleansing Sword Pool, wiggling their backside, gesturing left and right with their leg, finally pointing towards the Cleansing Sword Pool: “I’m very busy.”“I also need to bathe them, and I might not have time.”“As for leaving the mountain… he has to invite me first, then I’ll consider it.”The narrator gave a shallow smile. “Anything else?”“Scram!”“Alrighty!”